Shibakawa Building

Shibakawa Building was constructed in 1927 at the request of Matajirō Shibakawa. It was designed by Gorō Shibuya and his disciple Otobiko Honma, who also worked on the Ogawa Koryo Osaka Branch Building. Because Matajirō Shibakawa wanted a structure with both earthquake resistance and fire resistance, it was built of reinforced concrete—still uncommon at the time. The building is noted for decorations influenced by the Maya and Inca civilizations of South America, and it uses Spanish roof tiles. Its design is said to have been influenced by Frank Lloyd Wright’s former Imperial Hotel and by the “Spanish Colonial Revival” style that was popular in the American West at the time. From 1929 until during World War II, it was even used as a “bride school,” where young women learned cooking and sewing before marriage. Today it houses tasteful tenants such as the tableware shop yumiko iihoshi porcelain and the select shop dieci. Events like beer gardens are sometimes held on the rooftop terrace with a portico.